Given all the water shortages, why aren't more reservoirs and aqueducts being build?

Question

Every year when I hear about floods that hit various parts of the country, it makes me why there aren't more reservoirs built in flood prone areas. It seems wrong that there are floods every year in various parts of the Mississippi system, yet near by states like Georgia are having droughts.

And then there are the floods that frequently hit parts of Northern California and yet there are water shortages all over the southern part of the state. It seems like the state and/or federal governments could create reservoirs in some of the remote valleys - even if they were only filled in flood situations - to capture some of the flood waters.

Further, it seems like there could be more aqueducts constructed to divert water in flood situations.

Answer 1

deer friend,

the problem is man. there no water strorage. THE ICE CAP ARE MELTING.

THE WORLD IS 75% WATER.

Man spends all his time and money on the DEVILS WATER OIL.

we need more

BRAIN ON   then BRAIN OFF

REMEMBER GOD HAS GIVEN THE WORLD EVERYTHING IT NEEDS .

the storage is in people who CARE

Answer 2

To make a reservoir, you have to have a valley that you are willing to fill up with water.   There aren't that many valleys in the Midwest because it is wonderful flat land great for growing crops because it is silt from the rivers coming down from the mountains far away.  Which is part of the problem with getting water to Georgia - if there were a supply, then an expensive pipeline with pumps built to get the water over the mountains between Georgia and the Midwest.  And by your rules, it would sit unused until there was a flood and then only if the drought continued - what if it ends.

  Reservoirs are also a problem because water captured in reservoirs evaporates, losing the water, increasing the salt in the remaining and depositing silt that fills the reservoir after a while.

  But the big problem is that people in Southern California want more water than there is available and want to take it from anyone who appears to have some, because they don't want to live like they were in a desert, which they are.

Answer 3

TVA Tennessee Valley Authority of the Roosevelt make-work program (not what they called it lol) was created primarily for the reason you describe-reducing flooding.

Some areas are more easily modified to do this than others.  topography, population distribution, etc.

All things we do to reduce a natural problem have impacts in other ways.  Not all problems have good engineering solutions.  Sometimes the best solution is change in ourselves.  Of course, that is often the most difficult solution.  Hard to tell people that adding to the population in Southern California is a bad idea because there isn't really enough water there, or to tell people not to build along the Mississippi because it floods.  Too many good reasons to be there to let the bad ones scare us away.

But at least you are thinking and that is the only way to solve a problem, think out an answer.

Answer 4

They aren't allowed to, There are restrictions on how much water each state gets, such as those in southern US. And they also have to leave enough water flowing to Mexico. As it is, rivers are  being waaayy over drained. I suggest reading a book called "Water- The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource"